The book will explore the life of the famed physicist, including his struggles to understand his place in the world of science and celebrity.

"July 4, 2012 was a good day in physics and for Gordy Kane, Leland and me," said Ottaviani. "Not only was the Higgs boson revealed to the world, but Gordy - a prominent physicist and author of The Particle Garden - won a long-standing $100 bet with his friend Stephen Hawking on whether there even was a Higgs.

"And in an email letting us know about these things, Gordy and his wife Lois also added an 'Oh, by the way...'. They told us that Stephen had read and enjoyed our Feynman book and invited us to come to Cambridge and talk about doing a book about him.